The spring season of new shows on Broadway is underway. I’m taking advantage of good prices to see some of the new shows. One of the first that I saw was “Something Rotten” a new musical at the St. James Theatre.
How can a former English teacher turn down an opportunity to see a show that deals with Shakespeare? I couldn’t especially when the show ran an amazing special sale which was to attend one of the first three previews for $15.95. That’s right, 15.95! That amount was selected since the play was supposed to have taken place in 1595. So I opted for the second night and had a great seat in the mezzanine. It was packed that night and it turned out to be a fabulous audience who were very into the show and willing to let the actors know how much they were enjoying it.
And it is a very enjoyable show to see. It deals with a writing team made up of two brothers, Nick and Nigel Bottom, who are well played by Brian d’Arcy James and John Carianai. They can’t make a go of writing plays because William Shakespeare is dominating the scene. Shakespeare is depicted as a rockstar, dressed in leather pants, leather jacket, and slick haircut. He moves with grace and ease and is quite fetchingly played by Christian Borle, formerly of the series Smash. There is one musical number in the first act called “A Musical” that brought the audience to their feet with a great standing ovation. (I predict a Tony appearance for that song)
The laughs and jokes are plentiful and fast moving. In fact, a few times, there seemed like there were too many to zero in on. Perhaps since it was a preview, they were trying them out. The first act was absolute perfect, but I did feel like the second act needed some work. This was a preview I saw and seeing the quality of what was there, I have no doubt that there will be fixes made that will move this show up into the ranks of “must see this season.”
There are discounts around for this show, but beware they are due to expire soon. For example, Playbill.com currently has one that needs to be redeemed by 21 Apr 2015. “Something Rotten” does not officially open until April 22, 2015 and their attendance so far is averaging 97%. Check out discounts now as this could become a difficult ticket to get if the trend continues.
Just wanted to mention that the staff at the St. James Theatre were fantastic! They were enthusiastic and very helpful. They did a great job helping people feel comfortable that evening.
A fun cartoon on the outside of the St. James Theatre for ‘Something Rotten’
Photo by K Nowosad